Nanaimo closing in on new arena? . . . Pats pleased with first half . . . Parker goes fishing

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM TAKING NOTE

The streets were a mess on Monday, and there were two accidents in downtown Kamloops. Slow down and enjoy the holiday season, folks. . . . To mellow things out a bit, right here is Celtic Woman with . . . Do You Hear What I Hear?

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F Radek Meidl (Seattle, Tri-City, 2006-08) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Dukla Trenčín (Slovakia, Extraliga). This season, he had a goal and three assists in 27 games with Frýdek-Místek (Czech Republic, 1. Liga).

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Could the WHL have a team in Nanaimo, B.C., when the 2017-18 season begins?

There are still a number of stumbling blocks, including a possible referendum on a new arena, but the return of Nanaimo to the WHL may be closer today than at any time since the Islanders completed their only season (1982-83) in the city.

Kendall Hanson of CHEK-TV on Vancouver Island reported Monday that city staff has asked city council for direction on entering “into negotiations with the Western Hockey League and (a) WHL team leading to a memorandum of understanding in contemplation of (the) location of (a) WHL team in the city of Nanaimo beginning with the next WHL season — this even though the proposed Events Centre couldn’t be built before September of 2019.”

According to Hanson, Councillor Bill Bestwick said: “What we do know is that a team is available and what we do know is that Frank Crane Arena is 45 years old and what we do know is that if we wait five or 10 or 15 more years there might not be a team available and assuredly the event centre would cost $5-, $10-, $15-, $20-million more.”

While Nanaimo continues to talk about building an $86-million entertainment centre a decision whether to go ahead hasn’t been made. Discussions on exactly that were ongoing at a council meeting on Monday night.

Should the city choose to proceed with the project, the next step would be to hold a referendum. Hanson reported that while organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Improvement Association and Port Authority are in favour, there is opposition, starting with the Protection Island Neighbourhood Association.

Should the project get the go-ahead at some point in the not-too-distant future, it would mean a WHL team in Nanaimo would have to spend at least two seasons in the Frank Crane Arena, a facility that seats around 2,400 and is home to the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers.

The obvious candidate, of course, is the Kootenay Ice, a franchise that is owned by the Chynoweth family and has been for sale since 2012.

This season, after 19 home dates, the Ice is averaging 1,672 fans per game based on announced attendances. That is the poorest average attendance in the 22-team WHL. It also is a decrease of 285 from last season.

You have to wonder if the franchise might be better off drawing 2,400 fans in Nanaimo — assuming, that is, that it would be able to attract that many fans — than watching its fan base disappear in Cranbrook.

Jeff Chynoweth, the Ice’s governor, president and general manager, told Taking Note last night that he has “not spoken to anyone from Nanaimo.”

“But,” he added, “with everyone knowing our franchise is for sale, I am sure we will get lumped (in with) any potential new city or building.”

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The Regina Pats have never won 50 games in a WHL regular season. So they definitely have something to shoot for after getting to the Christmas break with a 22-3-6 record.

While they are fourth in the overall standings, four points being Prince George, the Pats hold five games in hand on the Cougars. Regina is three points behind the second-place Everett Silvertips, with the Pats holding two games in hand. The Medicine Hat Tigers are third, one point ahead of Regina, which holds five games in hand.

“If you would have told us when we started camp that on Dec. 17 we’d have three regulation losses, we would have probably said you had too much to drink,” John Paddock, the Pats’ general manager and head coach, told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post in a story that is right here. “In saying that, there are some factors to it. To start with, we took advantage of all the (early) home games but we’ve also gone out and played pretty good on the road. We rode that wave.”

Obviously, the Pats are going to have a busy second half, having played only 31 games going into the break.

The 1978-79 Brandon Wheat Kings hold the single-season record for fewest losses (5). They finished that season at 58-5-9, with the 9 representing ties.

That season, the Wheat Kings went into an 18-day Christmas break with a 26-1-5 record. It is rather doubtful that the Pats can play their final 41 games without losing more than twice, although some might say that Regina actually has lost nine games to date.

Anyway . . . when that Brandon team broke for Christmas, it already had three players — linemates — with at least 40 points. Left-winger Brian Propp had 99 points, including 46 goals, in 31 games. Right-winger Ray Allison had 85 points, 31 of them goals, in 28 games. Centre Laurie Boschman was at 80 points, including 36 goals, in 32 games. Propp and Allison were running 1-2 in the scoring race.

It is interesting that the Wheat Kings had an 18-day break that season. Propp, Allison and D Brad McCrimmon joined the New Westminster Bruins during the break and played in the World Junior Championship in Sweden. Boschman, G Rick Knickle, D Mike Perovich and D Tim Lockridge played in the Labatt Cup, a junior tournament that was held in various Ontario cities.

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Team Canada dumped Finland 5-0 in a Monday night exhibition game between two national junior teams at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Both teams are preparing for the 2017 World Junior Championship that is scheduled to begin in Toronto and Montreal on Dec. 26. . . . Canada got two goals from each of F Tyson Jost (North Dakota) and F Taylor Raddysh (Erie Otters), with F Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds) adding one. Goaltender Carter Hart (Everett Silvertips) earned the shutout with 25 saves. . . . Next up for Canada is an exhibition game against Czech Republic in Ottawa on Wednesday. Canada also will play Switzerland, in Toronto on Friday.

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D Slava Demin, 16, of the BCHL’s Wenatchee Wild has committed to the U of Denver where he will play for the Pioneers. Demin, from Cypress, Calif., was a sixth-round selection by the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL’s 2015 bantam draft. He has 16 points, including four goals, in 30 games with the Wild.

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Brent Parker has hung up the ‘Gone Fishing’ sign. The former president, governor and general manager of the Regina Pats announced Monday that he has “taken a sales and marketing position with Rodgers Fishing Lodge in Eliza Inlet on the beautiful West Coast of Vancouver Island.” . . . According to Parker, the lodge is “one of the oldest and most established lodges in B.C., and provide a luxury fishing experience for small groups or large corporate parties.” . . . So if you are wanting to fish for salmon, halibut or tuna, you may want to think about sending Parker an email at brentparker@sasktel.net for some info. . . . Sounds like a good spot for a meeting of the WHL board of governors and/or general managers.

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Two stepsons of Brent Stark, the owner and president of the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines, were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide involving their father in Spruce Grove, Alta., on Monday. The bodies of the boys, ages 11 and 13, were found when Stark and their mother, Tracy, arrived to pick them up and take them to Whitecourt for holidays. . . . “We both showed up to the home and a coward of a father took his life and his two boys’ lives,” Stark told Andrea Ross of CBC News. . . . There’s more right here.

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MAILBAG:

L C (not sure if that’s his/her real name) writes:

“Great blog Greg (sic), but I'm getting tired of seeing all the Lefty bashing / tweets of soon to be President Trump. If you have to insist on getting political, maybe include some sweet heart Justin Trudeau bashing to even it out. I'm starting to think this is a CBC / Left Wing Media affiliated blog.”

(Editor’s note: L C, I am wondering if you’re related to the late L.C. Greenwood? What a fine footballer he was. . . . Just want you to know that I am neither a left wing, nor a right wing. I’m a centre.)

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DEC. 19-26:

No Games Scheduled.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Broncos add veteran forward . . . Nanaimo may get new hockey team . . . Pats get back on track

F Ryan Graham, who played at least five games with the Saskatoon Blades in each of the past six

RYAN GRAHAM

seasons, got caught up in the WHL’s 20-year-old game on Sunday and now is on the roster of the Swift Current Broncos. . . . In return for Graham, the Blades acquired a second-round selection in the 2017 WHL bantam draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2018. . . . Graham, from Calgary, has a goal and four assists in 11 games with the Blades this season. He missed the start of the season with an undisclosed injury. . . . A fifth-round pick in the 2011 bantam draft, Graham has 116 points, including 59 goals, in 248 regular-season games, all with the Blades. He scored 20 goals in 2014-15 and added 22 last season. . . . The Broncos now have two 20-year-olds on their roster, F Calvin Spencer being the other, so still have room to add another one. . . . With F Jesse Shynkaruk, 20, due back this week after being out with an undisclosed injury, the Blades had to trim one 20-year-old to get down to the maximum of three. Their other 20s are F Kolten Olynek and D Bryton Sayers. . . . Interestingly, the Blades are to visit the Broncos on Tuesday night.

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The City of Nanaimo, according to CHEK News, “has completed an initial study looking into the building of an event centre with up to 8,300 seats, depending on the event.” . . . Apparently, a new facility would seat up to 5,700 for hockey. . . . But a new facility — it would cost somewhere between $62 million and $83 million, and financing isn’t in place — is a long way from reality. . . . In fact, going by the report by CHEK’s Kendall Hanson, the puck may well have been passed back to the WHL. “We need to have a team that has a stake in the building if we choose to go to a WHL team,” Mayor Bill McKay told Hanson. “We need to have investors that have a stake in the building, otherwise they’re completely immobile and we’re the ones taking all the risk.” . . . In other words, the Kootenay Ice will be in Cranbrook for a while yet. . . . Hanson's story is right here.

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While the WHL isn’t likely to land in Nanaimo any time soon, there could be a new hockey team on the way to the Vancouver Island city. . . . VIU Hockey Inc., a non-profit group, is hoping to land a franchise in the B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League that would begin play out of the Ice Centre in September. . . . Dominic Abassi of the Nanaimo News reports that a team in Nanaimo would play “under the banner of Vancouver Island University athletics.” A hockey team wouldn’t be a full-fledged member of the athletic department, but would play as a club team. . . . The BCIHL’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 7 and more light could be shed on the situation at that time. . . . The BCIHL features teams at Selkirk College in Castlegar, B.C., Trinity Western U in Langley, B.C., Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Simon Fraser U in Burnaby, B.C., and the U of Victoria. . . . There had been a club team associated with Thompson Rivers U in Kamloops, but it folded when the athletic department dropped its support when it wasn’t able to come up with a suitable business plan. Club teams are responsible for their own budgets, something the Nanaimo group figures will run about $80,000 per season. . . . Abassi’s story on the Nanaimo project is right here.

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It has been a long time — a long, long time — since I was an avid reader of comic books. Since those days, I really haven’t had occasion to read any, especially since our son, who also loved them, vacated the premises what seems a long time ago.

But just the other day I kind of reconnected with the genre when the graphic novel Hockey Karma landed on my desk.

Granted, Hockey Karma isn’t a comic book, although I would suggest it is a comic book for adults.

Never mind, though, because the important thing is that I quite enjoyed the experience and you can bet that I will be revisiting the genre.

Hockey Karma was written by Howard Shapiro, illustrated by Andres Mossa and lettered by Ryan Ferrier. It is the final installment in what a news release refers to as a “graphic triptych.” Hockey Karma completes Shapiro’s Forever Friends Trilogy, along with The Stereotypical Freaks and The Hockey Friends.

It details the final season in Jeremiah (Jake) Jacobson’s professional career. There’s a new kid in town and a transition is underway — Barclay Pedersen is replacing Jacobson as the face of the Can Am Hockey League’s Bay City Blades, who happen to have a female head coach.

It isn’t easy for Jacobson to hand over the torch as he battles with the realization that the end of his 14-year CAHL career is nigh. There also is a bad back with which to deal, something that really — really! — complicates things.

There is an agent, Tom Leonard, who is the centre piece in a couple of subplots that only add to the story.

Interestingly, each of the 12 chapters is preceded by a two-, three- or four-tune playlist featuring the work of various artists including The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Cure, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Joe Walsh, and Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, just to name a few.

All in all, devouring Hockey Karma was a terrific experience and a great introduction to its genre. Yes, I will be back.

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SUNDAY’S GAMES:

At Portland, F Tyler Wong scored 18 seconds into OT to give the Lethbridge Hurricanes a wild 6-5 victory

TYLER WONG

over the Winterhawks. . . . Portland (10-12-1), which had won its previous two games, took a 5-3 lead into the third period after F Evan Weinger, who had two goals, scored his ninth goal at 19:18 of the second. . . . Lethbridge cut into the deficit when F Ryley Lindgren (9) scored at 9:24 of the third. . . . F Giorgio Estephan (9) tied it with a PP goal at 17:45. . . . Wong won it with his second goal of the game and 13th of the season. . . . Lindgren also finished with two goals, while F Colton Kroeker had two assists. . . . The Winterhawks got a goal and two assists from D Caleb Jones, who has three scores, with F Keegan Iverson and Ryan Hughes each chipping in two assists. . . . Lethbridge starter Stuart Skinner was beaten three times on seven shots in 14:34. Ryan Gilchrist came on to stop 28 of 30 shots in 45:03. . . . The Winterhawks got 25 saves from Michael Bullion. . . . Lethbridge was 2-6 on the PP; Portland was 1-7. . . . The Hurricanes (9-11-3) have won two in a row. . . . Announced attendance: 3,049.

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At Langley, B.C., less than 24 hours after losing for the first time in regulation time, the Regina Pats

CONNOR HOBBS

dismantled the Vancouver Giants to the tune of 8-3. . . . On Saturday, the Victoria Royals had beaten the visiting Pats, 5-3. . . . On Sunday, Regina (16-1-3) scored four first-period goals and coasted to victory. . . . The Giants (10-14-0) have lost two in a row. . . . F Luc Smith gave Regina a 1-0 lead with his fourth goal at 9:26. . . . Regina then struck three times in 4:50, with F Adam Brooks (8) scoring at 13:50, F Nick Henry (9) counting on a PP at 16:43 and D Connor Hobbs getting his 10th at 18:40. . . . Henry finished with two goals, while F Sam Steel, the WHL’s leading scorer, had three assists to become the season’s first 40-point man. With 41 points, Steel holds a seven-point edge over F Mason Shaw of the Medicine Hat Tigers. . . . Regina F Filip Ahl scored his 18th goal, 10 of which have come via the PP, as did this one. He also had an assist. . . . Regina D Chase Harrison drew an assist on Ahl’s goal to run his point streak to 15 games, the longest in the WHL this season. . . . Brooks added three assists to his goal. The WHL’s defending scoring champion has at least a point in all 14 games in which he has played. Overall, he has eight goals and 24 helpers. . . . Smith and Hobbs each added an assist to their goals. Hobbs has 28 points, tops among WHL defencemen. He also has goals in four straight games. . . . F Johnny Wesley (5) had a goal and an assist for Vancouver. . . . Regina starter Jordan Hollett stopped 21 of 24 shots in 51:55, leaving with an undisclosed injury after Vancouver’s third goal. Tyler Brown finished up, stopping the only shot he faced in 8:05. . . . The Pats next play Tuesday when they meet the Cougars in Prince George. If Hollett can’t dress, Regina will have to bring in a backup goaltender. . . . Vancouver starter Ryan Kubic was beaten three times on six shots in 16:43. David Tendeck came on to stop 16 of 21 shots in 43:17. . . . Regina was 2-6 on the PP; Vancouver was 0-5. . . . The Pats have scored at least eight goals in five of 20 games this season. . . . Announced attendance: 4,130.

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At Victoria, the Kelowna Rockets scored four times in the first period and went on to beat the Royals, 5-1.

ROD SOUTHAM

. . . One night earlier, the Royals had beaten visiting Regina, 5-3, handing the Pats their first regulation-time loss in 19 games. . . . F Rod Southam, Kelowna’s captain, led the way with two goals, both of them in the first period, giving his six this season. Southam was playing in his 199th regular-season WHL game. . . . F Leif Mattson (1) got the visitors started at 2:21, with Southam scoring a 4:44 and F Kole Lind (11) finding the mark at 11:03. . . . Southam’s second goal, at 12:55, sent the Rockets into the second period with a 4-0 edge. . . . D Nolan Foote (3) upped Kelowna’s lead to 5-0 at 8:26 of the second period. . . . F Dante Hannoun (10) got Victoria’s only goal, at 9:40 of the second. . . . Kelowna got 25 saves from G Michael Herringer. . . . Victoria G Griffen Outhouse allowed two goals on five shots in the first 4:44 and gave way to Dylan Myskiw, who finished the opening period, giving up two goals on seven shots. Outhouse was back for the start of the second and finished the game. In total, he stopped 22 of 25 shots. . . . Kelowna, which will play in Victoria again on Tuesday, was 1-4 on the PP; Victoria was 1-7. . . . F Jake Kryski was among Kelowna’s scratches. . . . The Rockets (13-10-0) have won two in a row. . . . Victoria (13-9-2) had won its previous two games. . . . Announced attendance: 3,084.

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MONDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

No Games Scheduled.

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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Red Deer at Calgary, 7 p.m.

Medicine Hat at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.

Regina at Prince George, 7 p.m.

Edmonton vs. Seattle, at Kent, Wash., 7:05 p.m.

Saskatoon at Swift Current, 7 p.m.

Kelowna at Victoria, 7:05 p.m.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.